What Are Your Travel Dreams?

I just finished listening to a podcast on Location Indie.

Location Indie is run by 2 guys, Travis and Jason.

They teach people how to be location independent with their business.

But they also talk about travel.

And on this episode they talked about their travel dreams — travel experiences they hadn’t had yet but wanted to do in the future.

It’s kind of a bucket list.

These 2 guys have done a lot.

So for them some of the ideas were a bit far fetched.

Travis talked about wanting to take a trip on a cargo ship.

Some of the ideas were not so crazy.

Jason wanted to road trip around Eastern Europe.

Each of them chose 5 experiences and ranked them in order.

Of course, Travis always has an honorable mention (or 2).

 

But this got my wheels spinning.

What are some of the top travel experiences I want to have?

And I’m curious — what are YOUR travel dreams?

What are those experiences you want to have?

I’ve been thinking about this over the past couple of days.

I knocked one travel dream off my list back in the spring — walking a long distance trail.

Hiking the Grand Canyon was another one for me.

I did that back in early 2004.

 

But there are so many more.

So I finally narrowed it down.

And these aren’t just places I want to travel to.

Rather these are experiences to have while traveling.

So think of things like running with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain.

Or taking the Orient Express train.

Or sailing around the Greek Islands.

Or scuba diving the Great Barrier Reef.

Got it?

Great.

Here are my top 5 — make that 7 — travel dreams.

I couldn’t do just 5.

And I didn’t rank them like Travis and Jason.

So there’s no particular order.

 

See the mountain gorillas

This is one of those experiences that is really high on my list.

I just love the great apes — gorillas and orangutans in particular.

And with them being endangered, it is not easy to do.

The mountain gorillas are mostly in an area in Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

You are lead by park rangers.

And it’s not cheap!

They take you to known areas where the gorillas live.

It’s not a trek for everyone as it’s very jungle-like with lots of vegetation, bugs, etc.

The trek may be just a couple of hours or it could be 5-6 hours.

And you’ll only get to spend one hour with the gorillas.

If you have a cold, you’re out of luck.

You can’t go for fear of getting the gorillas sick.

It takes some planning in advance for sure.

 

But everyone that has done this raves about it.

Some folks even get emotional about the experience.

Spending just that hour with them can leave you with a better understanding of how precious these animals are.

Definite bucket list item for me.

 

 

Trek through the Alps and/or the Dolomites staying in the huts along the way

I could also call this one “do the Tour du Mont Blanc.”

It’s a bit of toss up as I’d love to do the 170km Tour du Mont Blanc.

 

But I’d also do a shorter trek through some other part of the French or Swiss Alps or even my beloved Italian Dolomites.

I’d love to stay in a refugio — mountain hut — so I could experience sunset and sunrise up in the peaks.

I used to camp and I did some backpacking in my younger days.

So for me, this is how I can continue to really be in the mountains — my happy place — without having to sleep on the ground.

Those days are definitely over.

 

But I still love being able to sleep in nature.

And to spend multiple days in the mountains — walking the trails, sleeping under the stars to some extent — is pure bliss for me.

 

Stay in an overwater bungalow

This is one of those “this is so cliché” items on my list.

But I don’t care.

It’s something that tugs at me every time I see a photo of one of these places.

All I think of is how fabulous it would be to wake up each morning and look out to see the water with lots of colorful fish swimming right under you.

And how peaceful it would be to hear the waves lapping against the bungalow, lulling you to sleep.

Just a few nights is all I need.

And while I know some of these places are really pricey, there are also some that aren’t.

So I’ll do this … eventually.

 

Experience Norway

Yes.

This is a bit of a place rather than an experience.

But I want to see the Northern lights, cruise the fjords, hike the mountains and glaciers and visit the colorful towns.

 

I want to experience it all.

And I probably cheated a bit on this one as these are a couple of experiences in one.

Tough shit.

This is my list so I’ll do it how I want.

And I want to experience Norway.

I’d go dogsledding too.

Maybe kayaking in the fjords.

The list goes on.

I want to truly experience this natural playground.

 

Live like a local in Paris

Or some other city, town or village.

I say Paris because it is the first city on my list.

 

And this is something I am striving for in my business — to be location independent so I can live for a month or 2 or 3 (or more) in one spot and really get to know these places.

So maybe it’s a city like Paris.

Or maybe it’s a town or small city like Galway, Ireland.

Or it might be a mountain village like my beloved Castelrotto, Italy.

I dream of being in Castelrotto all summer when I can hike every day or even in winter when it’s under a blanket of snow.

I simply want to stay put for a while and really dig deep into a destination.

So that destination becomes home for me.

And so I can then know enough about it to plan a trip for you to that place.

Slow travel is — to me — the best way to travel.

Living like a local is my dream.

 

Want to know about the best places in Europe for 2020? Sign up to get the free pdf!

 

Follow the Siq to Petra and experience Petra

Petra is one of those places that screams, “Come visit me!”

And the Siq is the main ancient entrance that you see in all the images — like this one.

 

So I want to do this.

Preferably on a camel or horseback (if it’s ethical).

And I wouldn’t mind seeing this at night.

I’ve seen pictures of the candles all lit up.

Stunning!!

I can’t tell you why Petra and why not the Pyramids in Egypt or the Acropolis in Greece or Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

Petra just speaks to me.

So it’s on the travel dreams list.

 

Hike the Milford Track in New Zealand

Oh New Zealand!

It’s one of those places that is far away and filled with hobbits and sorcerers and elves.

There are gorgeous mountains, enchanting forests and beautiful fjords.

And the Milford Track is the famous walk of 53 km that takes it all in.

It’s a stunning place in good weather.

But it’s also known to be quite wet here.

You hike hut to hut much like the Tour du Mont Blanc.

It’s a bucket list item for folks who are into trekking — or tramping as they call in in New Zealand.

And it’s one of my top travel dreams.

 

And my honorable mention goes to…

 

Road tripping the Pacific Coast Highway

Probably my top travel experience I want to have in the US.

Well it was a toss up with this or New England in autumn.

But the road trip up or down the PCH has been taunting me for a while.

I’d love to take a couple of months to really slow down and experience this.

I dream of stopping in small towns for a couple of days and connecting with the locals.

Maybe I’d take a short detour inland to take in the vineyards of Sonoma.

You know really see this part of my country.

Truly experience it.

 

So what do you think?

Do any of these travel dreams appeal to you?

What’s on your list of top travel experiences you want to have?

I’m curious as hell.

So I hope you’ll drop some of your ideas in the comments.

Who knows — maybe I’ll put together a list of your dream travel experiences!